Call to the Sandman
by O.o Everzoned o.O
Summary: It wasn't unusual for a stream of dream sand to return early. Bright screens of computers and electronic games made it easier for children to fight the pull of sleep, but this was different. This stream carried a message. It was a call for his aid and Sandy wasn't about to stand... er float by and let it go unanswered. Rated T for safety.


Enjoy!

I don't own anything from Rise of the Guardians, though it'd be kool (yes _kool_ with a _k_, it's better that way) to hang out with Sandy!

* * *

It wasn't unusual for a stream of sand to return early, especially now that technology had a stronghold on today's youth. He'd seen plenty of children fall asleep at their computers only to jerk awake when a small movement of the mouse lit the screen back up, but this instance was different. This stream of sand came with a feeling of urgency, almost like the child it was intended for had marked it with a cry for help. Bracing himself for battle, Sandy willed the sand toward the second story window of a tan-colored house and looked inside.

**POV Kaya**

'Ow, ow, owww, what the heck is this?! It hurts so bad, _mom! Dad! Somebody… _Help me! Make it stop!' thought Kaya as she clutched her head in pain.

She had just climbed into bed to lay down when the minor headache she'd had all day suddenly intensified. It was worse than any pain she'd ever had and came on so quickly that it scared her. She tried calling for help, but any noise she made sent a lightning bolt of pain through her skull and moving only made it worse. Letting out a shaky breath of air she hadn't realized she'd been holding, she tried her best to lay as still as possible hoping that the pain would calm down enough to let her sleep through it. After a few moments she began to doze off when a bright string of gold light caught her eye. Releasing her grip on her head to cover her sensitive eyes brought a whole new level of pain so intense she saw spots for a second. Deciding that she couldn't take anymore, she carefully wiggled to the edge of her bed determined to stick out the pain and get help.

'Ok, I made it! Now all I have to do is get up and walk downstairs to get mom and dad, easy right? Yeah! You can do this! Let's go!'

Moving at the speed of drying paint, she finally made it into an upright position facing her door. Bracing herself for a new wave of pain from the change in head position, she stood up and began to walk, eyes closed, toward salvation. Just as she reached the halfway point, she tripped over pile of laundry she'd been meaning to get to for weeks and fell forward.

'Crap!'

**POV Sandy**

Sandy watched as a girl with her back to him sat up unusually slow and took several deep breaths. As she did this he took a moment to look around her room for signs of danger. Finding the room completely dark and everything in order, he turned his gaze back to her just in time to see her trip over a small mound of clothes on her floor. Acting fast he shot through the window and caught the back of her shirt pulling until he got her upright again. Floating around to face her he wiped his forehead and let out a breath before looking up to see her reaction.

"Holy crap! That was so close! Thanks lil dude! Hey, are you the sandma- Ah!"

" ?!" Sandy signed as she reached up to hold her head in pain. He floated up and placed his hands on top of hers to try to have a look when she closed her eyes and turned away. Alarmed he took a hold of her shoulder, led her to a desk chair, and sat her down on it. He made to try to check her head again, but she motioned for him to stay where he was. He watched anxiously until her eyes blinked open to squint at him through her lashes.

"?"

"Sorry little dude," she whispered "My head is killing me and the glowing thing you got going on isn't helping. Crap. Sorry that sounded mean. It's just… this has never happened before. I'm kinda scared. Can you help me get downstairs to my mom and dad? I'm Kaya by the way."

Signing a thumbs up Sandy willed his sand to gather beneath Kaya. It gently lifted her into a reclined position and carried her into the hall. He turned back to check on her only to frown. She had her eyes closed and her ears covered to block out the light and sound drifting up from downstairs. He swiftly formed a pair of glasses and some ear muffs and placed them on her. Seeing her shoulders relax a bit he began to make the trip downstairs.

Laughter rang out as he reached the bottom. Peering around the corner he spotted a couple snuggled under a blanket watching TV. Judging by their features he could tell that these were Kaya's parents. Now all he had to do now was get their attention despite the fact that they probably couldn't see him. He briefly considered floating her in front of them but dismissed it. Seeing their daughter with her eyes closed floating in midair with nothing underneath her would freak them out. Maybe she was well enough to walk over to them?

Looking back to Kaya he noticed that despite the glasses and ear muffs he gave her she was still in pain. It was made obvious by the tight grip she had on her pajama bottoms and what would probably have been a cute pout if the circumstances were different. Mind made up, he decided to take a chance that concern for their daughter would win out over the strangeness of her floating in midair and floated in front of the TV with Kaya.

"The heck?! Lynnette! Are you seeing this?" The man said as he turned off the TV.

"Holy crap! It's the Sandman!" The woman, 'Lynnette' asked. Taking a second to study her daughter's posture, her previous excitement turned to concern. "Kaya? What's wrong? Is she hurt?" She said looking between Sandy and Kaya who'd begun to bite her lip.

Sandy was surprised that she could see him given her age, but put that aside in favor of explaining. Nodding to Kaya's mom, Sandy began signing what happened from a mini Kaya tripping over laundry and a tiny him catching her to mini Kaya clutching her head in pain. He then pointed to the real Kaya and signed a light bulb followed by a giant X and a speaker with arches coming out with another giant X.

"So let me see if I got this right," Kaya's father said sitting up, "You saw Kaya trip and caught her, but then she hit her head on a lamp and yelled at you?" He questioned looking to his wife for confirmation. Sandy shook his head frantically and was about to start again when Lynnette sighed sadly.

"No George. I think I know what this is. This is my fault."

"What?"

"?"

"What the Sandman was trying to say is that she tripped, he caught her, and then she told him her head hurt. She can't handle light or sound. That's why she has those glasses and ear muffs on, to block them both out." Sandy nodded.

"Oh no" George said in a quiet voice as he stood. He made his way around the room quieting everything and turning off all the lights until the only light to be seen came from Sandy and the small sand cloud. He then took the glasses and ear muffs off of Kaya and pulled her into a gentle hug, careful not to touch her head. Not quite getting what was happening Sandy turned to Lynnette with a questioning look.

"She has a migraine Sandman. That's why her head hurts so much. I get them all the time and the doctor told me I could pass it down to Kaya, but I thought she was in the clear after her 14th birthday came and went so I never told her how to watch for them. I'm so sorry Kaya." Lynnette explained. She took Kaya hand in hers and held it.

"It's ok mom," Kaya said wincing at the sound of her own voice.

Seeming to notice the wince, Kaya's mom let go of Kaya's hand and rushed toward the kitchen only to trip over her purse she'd meant to pick up and into his arms. When Lynnette looked up Sandy arched on eyebrow and a girl and a woman with an equal sign in between them formed above his head.

"Yea I guess we are alike in a lot of ways" she said chuckling nervously as he helped her to her feet. "Could you walk me to the kitchen? I can use your glow to see. Kaya needs to take some medicine with a hot drink." Nodding, he guided her toward the kitchen.

"Could you get the tea from the cabinet behind you Sandman? It's the mint tea in the green box." He grabbed the box and went to hand it to Lynnette when something on it caught his eye. Frowning he turned to Lynnette and signed rapidly.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. I can't understand what you're saying." He stopped and pointed to the word 'caffeinated' on the tea box and then to the clock which showed the time to be 1:30 a.m. "Oh ok, you're worried about Kaya not being able to sleep! Don't worry, Sandy, can I call you that?" He nods and points to himself before motioning her to continue. "Oh cool, that's your name? Anyway Sandy, Kaya will sleep just fine even with the caffeine, pain takes a lot out of a person, trust me. Plus caffeine helps fights stem the pain as does mint. The heat of the tea will help the pills dissolve faster as well as relax her so she can sleep this off" She said taking out a tea bag and placing into the water. Grabbing the pill bottle she shook out 3 pills and carried them with the tea over to Kaya who was still floating on his cloud leaning against her dad.

"Ok sweetie, your mom has some meds and tea for you to take. Can you sit up a little?"

Sandy watched as a clearly miserable Kaya took her time sitting up. He had to resist an urge to hug her and instead subconsciously copied her sad pout. As she sat up she winced and reached out for the pills. Noticing the increased number her eyebrow rose before she winced again and put it back down.

"I know you usually take 2, but years of experience have taught me that taking 2 is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, not effective at all. Your migraine will laugh at you right before it increases in intensity. Trust me, oh and the doctor who said it would be alright if this ever happened."

She nodded her head as little as possible before tilting her head back and swallowing the pills. She lowered her head a bit too fast and let out a whimper, tears coming to her eyes.

"I know this sounds cold, sweetheart, but don't cry, ok? Don't cry sweetie, it'll only make it worse."

Sandy watched in sympathy as she sniffed a bit and closed her eyes, silently willing her tears away. _She is a strong girl _he noted as she took careful sips of her tea. In the silence that followed Sandy took a moment to study the small family before him. It wasn't often the guardians encountered teenagers that could still see them at Kaya's age, not to mention both of her parents' ages. He wanted to know their story and almost asked before deciding to save it for another time. Feeling a familiar nudge in his mind he looked up to see Kaya finally drifting off to sleep. This time he waited patiently until she was fully asleep and in bed before sprinkling a bit of dream sand upon her. She wouldn't have any dreams because of the medicine, but the dream sand could still give her a deeper, more peaceful sleep. Kaya smiled slightly in her sleep as if confirming his thoughts. Smiling back even though she couldn't see it, he noted the time and turned his smile toward her parents to wave goodbye.

"Thanks for your help Sandy. I know Kaya would want to thank you herself if she could" Lynnette said as she waved back to him.

"Yeah, come back and visit anytime, man" George said nodding to him.

Saluting in answer he jumped on his cloud and floated out the window before forming his plane and flying off. As he traveled he thought about the strange little family of seemingly lifelong believers he'd just left and smiled. He'd make a point of visiting again to check on Kaya and learn more about them. Sealing the promise with a nod to himself, he put an extra bit of speed into his flight in excitement and couldn't help but be glad he'd answered the call.

* * *

Migraines suck and I know because Kaya is basically me. I actually get migraines and they were passed down to my brother and I by my mom who has them so bad she had to go to the hospital for them. She takes prescribed medication to keep them under control so it's better, for now. The line about not crying because it makes it worse was something my mom actually said to me during one of my first migraines (and it's true). The whole story is kind of a mash-up of my experiences with them.

Well, I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know how I did, this is my first story :)

O.o Everzoned o.O


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